ODI preview / Ed Hawkins / 21 November 2008 /

England are enjoying a torrid time in India and as Edward Hawkins explains, the arrival of the world's greatest batsman could see matters get a whole lot worse.

Having been denied the chance to get a foothold in a one-day series which is increasingly looking like the proverbial mountain, England - down in the doldrums following a 16-run loss in Kanpur - needed a pick-me-up. India responded by announcing that Sachin Tendulkar had been recalled for the fourth ODI in Bangalore on Sunday.

So just imagine you are an England player for a moment. You are knackered from the play-travel-practice (repeat x7) schedule, you are getting outplayed on alien pitches in front of packed and partisan stadiums, when you do get the sniff of a victory, bad light comes to the rescue of the home team and only when they are 3-0 up, do they decide they require the services of the greatest runscorer ever seen.

It has to jar doesn't it? Of course the professional would never admit to such a feeling and will only talk about "new challenges" but the rest of us sitting in our centrally-heated living rooms, failing to mimic the sweltering conditions of the sub-continent, know that positive vibes in the England camp are at a low ebb.
India are [1.50] to take the series in the quickest possible time at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with Kevin Pietersen's beleaguered team no better than [3.00]. If prices better reflected confidence levels between the two outfits then India's would be about to peak and England's would be turning back for fresh provisions at base camp.

The hosts played some irresistible stuff in the first two matches and despite being slightly below par in game three on Thursday, they still proved too strong.
With Tendulkar returning they have, of course, just got stronger. With him in the team they win around 50 per cent of their 50-over contests. Without him, that figure drops to 40 per cent. England's series chance has almost certainly gone. They are, after all, [43.00] to win the remaining four matches for a most astonishing comeback.
Unsurprisingly, India do not make a habit of squandering 3-0 leads. In 2005 they let slip a two-game advantage against Pakistan to lose 4-2 while it is telling that the last time they led a two-team series 3-0, it was against England in 2006. That soon became 4-0 and only then did India take their foot off the accelerator, losing the final match of the series.

For a crumb of comfort for Pietersen and their backers in this next match, India did lose a fourth one-day international against South Africa in 2000 when leading by the current scoreline.
If India's dominance is not allowing you to enjoy playing the match odds markets, there are other ways of making these one-sided contests pay.
For a start we should expect runs. And lots of the them. Look at this sequence of numbers: 307, 317, 169, 347, 315, 291. They are the last six first-innings scores in Bangalore.
It is a wicket which rewards the dashing batsman. With India well served in this department and England capable of doing better after promoting the excellent Ravi Bopara to open, taking a price on a score of 275 or more first up could be the way to go.

An ideal scenario would be if England were to bat first, post a total large enough to see India approach close to even money (don't forget those Tendulkar percentages) and then demoralise England further. On such an unforgiving wicket for bowlers of the ilk of James Anderson and Steve Harmison, it is a strong possibility.
Failing that, you could give England one last chance. We like statistics in this column so with defeats in chronological order of 158 runs, 54 runs and, most recently, 16 runs, surely that means the touring side are about to go into credit?

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